Hospitalization throws the preterm gut microbiome off-key

Environmental exposures substantially influence the infant gut microbiome. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Thänert et al.1 characterize how medical interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shape gut microbiome dynamics in the first months of life by analyzing over 2,500 fecal samples with metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Environmental exposures substantially influence the infant gut microbiome. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Thänert et al. characterize how medical interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shape gut microbiome dynamics in the first months of life by analyzing over 2,500 fecal samples with metagenomics and metatranscriptomics.